Today with no warning my battery was dead. I had the battery checked at Autozone and it was definately bad (kind of strange since I have not even had a hint of the battery being weak). After replacing the battery the "service engine soon" light came on. I refueled the car 2 days ago and have checked the gas cap. The light was not on before the dead battery. Any help???

 

Not to freak you out or anything, but I would have it looked at soon. My service engine light came on right before my entire electrical harness burned up in my 02 mini. Cause seems to be the well known "Faulty power steering pump and fan" that bmw wants to turn a blind eye to.. Get it checked out...

 

On a side note, when I was reinstalling the battery, I accidentally broke the 1 side tabs off the plastic battery cover(the other was already broken). So the cover kindof just sits on top not really secured. Anyone have a way to fix it?? or does it have to be replaced??

 

Wes, common for a battery to just go like that, they lose a cell & it's over fast. As for the Service Engine light coming on , that's typically an emissions issue. Wouldn't panic but get the code read to put your mind @ ease.

 

What??? Why you gotta freak out a fellow '02 owner!
OK, was there any sign that it was going to happen, besides the light?
I'm sorry that happened to you.

My light has gone on before, and it was the gas cap both times, even though there is a light on the speedo just for that. Both times the ignition had to cycle about 20 times before it went out.

Now I have heard about the fires before, so if there is any sign this is going to happen I would reaaaaalllly appreciate any info! Thanks!

 

Dude,

There was absolutely no warning or any indication that there was a problem prior to this happening. It took me totally by suprise and was the first problem I've had with this car since it took possesion of it. The car fax was super clean and I had it verified by BMW customer service. Just beware, I had no idea about the engine fires prior to this happening, it would be in your best interest to look at the "sticky" on this issue and read through some of the victims posts, they are quite alarming! This is a major issue with this car that the BMW car company is purposely not recognizing. For a premium brand, I may have just as well bought a low cost Ford or domestic car considering the customer service at the dealership and BMW of NA. I am very dissapointed with this issue and thier lack of support, and will not return as a customer.

 

My "service engine soon" light did go out after about 4 ignition cycles.